PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
SUPPORT FOR BRITISH MERCHANT SEAFARERS (21 March 2016)

That this House notes reports of increased redundancies of British merchant seamen in the North Sea; further notes the 65,000 job losses in the North Sea oil and gas industry in the last year; understands the pressure shipping companies are under to cut operating costs; expresses its concern at reports of British merchant seamen being replaced by cheaper and often less qualified foreign crew; recognises the problem of marine recruitment companies advertising jobs abroad but not in the UK; acknowledges the impact this may have on the British merchant shipping industry and the employment prospects of young sea cadets; believes the increase in numbers of foreign crew on British ships has the potential to cause problems in the industry due to language barriers and unfamiliarity with local seas; calls on British shipping companies to work with the maritime union Nautilus to support seafarers who have lost their jobs or are facing redundancy; and further calls on the Government to review the recruitment practices of UK shipping companies and provide an assessment of the impact these redundancies are having on the UK maritime industry.

Sponsored by:
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)